Interaction: Activity 2
Corrective feedback in interaction
Look at the following transcripts for 3 sections (episodes) of Fereshteh’s Interview and Question Task. For each utterance highlighted in yellow in the transcript, what do you think the interviewer’s intent was in repeating something the learner said? Was she focused on meaning (for example trying to get more information or confirming her understanding)? Or was she focused on form, trying to correct the learner? In each case, do you think the interviewer’s move was effective in achieving its goal?
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Transcript (PDF) includes all 3 epsodes
Please type your answers to the questions in the box below.
When you have finished typing your answer, click to compare your response with the Learner Language staff response.
Fereshteh, Episode 1
Here the interviewer is trying to correct the grammatical error (word order) of the learner. Fereshteh says, “man sal..espaniai… do dars mikhunam” which is incorrect in Farsi, hence the interviewer recasts: “do sal”. Fereshteh notices and repeats this phrase and in the next line the interviewer completes the sentence adding the correct verb tense to the previous phrase to put more emphasis on it: “Have you studied Spanish for two years?” It seems that the interviewer's move was effective since Fereshteh notices the gap between her error and the recast, and she produces the correct uptake for “two years” twice.
Fereshteh, Episode 2:
In this episode the interviewer asks Fereshteh which language she likes better, Persian or Spanish. Fereshteh answers, “Farsi” but then she doubts her comprehension and asks, “What did you say please?” Interviewer rephrases her question and Fereshteh understands it but produces an incorrect verb: “Persian is more” Here the interviewer provides corrective feedback by repeating her question with the correct form, “Do you like more”. Fereshteh notices the gap again and repairs her utterance: “yes, I like, yes”. It seems that this corrective feedback is successful because in both cases Fereshteh repairs her utterances.
Fereshteh, Episode 3:
In this episode the interviewer is not providing a recast, but is genuinely asking for more information.
